In order to discourage discriminating practices against convicted felons, the City of Seattle has passed legislation prohibiting employers from conducting background checks through the first stage of the hiring process. the idea behind the legislation, as I understand it, is so that the human resources manager can take a good look at the skills sets and general attributes of the job applicant without being prejudiced by previous criminal records. This, the Seattle City Council believes, will help increase employment for he poor and needy and by virtue of their getting jobs, it will reduce crime.

According to the article in the SLOG, employers will be subject to warnings and then fines up to $1,000.00 if they disregard the law. Employers, the council hopes, will only consider past criminal records if the convictions are relative to the job.

Corra Group has added an assortment of background checks to its roster of Latin American and South American searches. As increased interest and a recovering global economy has created greater demand for a wider array of services, Corra Group is expanding its range of background searches for both employment screening and business research.

“Following the economic recovery from the Great Recession, the paradigm has changed globally but with special respect to Central America and South America,” said Gordon Basichis, Corra Group Co-Founder. “The nations comprising Latin America are boasting active economies since the recovery. There is considerable economic growth. But, since the recession, entities are exercising greater caution when engaging in trade or co-ventures in the developing nations. Gone are the days when there was a freewheeling atmosphere and the belief the party would last forever. More sober times call for greater due diligence and corporate research.

“Executives need to know if prospective clients and partners businesses are solvent and the principles reputable,” said Basichis. “In some cases, not just in Latin America, but around the world it has sometimes become an art form just to be paid for delivered goods and services. A business can spend months chasing down money owed. For the small business, this is often money that they counted on. The consequences can be devastating.”

Basichis noted that about six months ago Corra Group began receiving more inquiries regarding the types of international searches the background checking service offered, especially for Latin America. “We did our research and conducted careful sourcing, forming partnerships with researchers we found to be reputable and effective,” said Basichis. “In addition to international criminal checks, we can now offer credit checks on the principles as well as corporate credit reports on the entities. We now offer civil searches in many countries as well as identity verification checks.”

If you don’t believe people lie about having their degrees then read this article. Even those in high places have been discovered to have lied about their degree. A simple background check would have revealed that the person did not have a degree.

In this case the person was an op-ed writer for the Wall Street Journal. This was the same person who Secretary of State John Kerry and Senator John McCain quoted in citing reasons for launching an attack against Syria. Now, for me, I’m not saying the PHD she claimed she had would have given her any more wisdom in understanding the dynamics of Syria than world experience. There are college dropouts and even high school dropouts who have made fortunes without benefit or, as some feel, hindrance of a diploma.

But then in this case the writer lied about it. And she was fired. One wonders if upon hiring her, the publication just took her claim to a PHD at face value or actually conducted an education verification. I’d say probably not.

According to Politico…”The Syria researcher whose Wall Street Journal op-ed piece was cited by Secretary of State John Kerry and Sen. John McCain during congressional hearings about the use of force has been fired from the Institute for the Study of War for lying about having a Ph.D., the group announced on Wednesday.

“The Institute for the Study of War has learned and confirmed that, contrary to her representations, Ms. Elizabeth O’Bagy does not in fact have a Ph.D. degree from Georgetown University,” the institute said in a statement. “ISW has accordingly terminated Ms. O’Bagy’s employment, effective immediately.”

Most people believe in giving people second chances. Most employers we talk to believe the same and tend to comply with the EEOC guidelines for hiring someone with a criminal past. As several employers in the energy field mentioned to me, “we are in such need of workers, I can’t let a little thing like a criminal conviction get in the way. Provided they are up front about their crimes and that they have been behaving themselves.” That seems to be the common refrain.

The Great State of Texas just made it a tad easier for employers to give job applicants with convicted criminal histories a second chance. They have relaxed the employment negligence laws, taking some of the onus off of the employer who after hiring a convicted criminal finds that same criminal acting out on the job. If there are instances of violence or harassment, other stuff, this can lead to charges of employment negligence. This is where the employer hired the wrong guy who did some damage. The employer is now open to liability claims. Many of us know this as no good deed goes unpunished.

Fisher & Phillips, one of the premiere employment law firms just put out a release announcing the new Texas Law. Here are Some of the excerpts–

“Employers seem to be caught in an impossible catch-22 these days: run a background check on a job candidate and risk a potential discrimination lawsuit or forego this procedure and risk exposing the company to potential liability for negligent hiring or supervision. This is the position that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission seems to be putting employers in by its aggressive interpretation of Title VII as prohibiting blanket rules against hiring applicants with criminal backgrounds.

The Texas Legislature has taken an important step to help protect employers who are willing to give applicants with a criminal record a second chance. House Bill 1188, which takes effect Sept. 1, 2013, will limit the liability of employers who hire applicants with a criminal record. The new law provides that a “cause of action may not be brought against an employer, general contractor, premises owner, or other third party solely for negligently hiring or failing to adequately supervise an employee, based on evidence that the employee has been convicted of an offense.

HB 1188 will benefit both employers and those with criminal records who are seeking employment, who often have difficulty finding a job. According to the National Institute of Corrections, about 5 million Texas adults have criminal records and hundreds of thousands of Texans who are no longer on probation or parole have felony convictions on their records. As inmates leave prison and try to gain self-sufficiency, they are often met with resistance by employers who are concerned that hiring ex-offenders may expose them to liability. “